Читать книгу (101 things to know when you go) ON SAFARI IN AFRICA - Patrick Brakspear - Страница 54

The name "tsetse" was coined from the Setswana name for the fly. This fly is a drab brown colour, is similar to a horse fly, with a long proboscis. The tsetse fly is a major scourge of Africa, for it feeds on blood and transmits diseases to man (sleeping sickness) and domestic animals (‘nagana'). Game animals are carriers but are otherwise unaffected – this is an important point and the reason why some conservationists believe it to be the saviour of many of Africa’s wild places. It is the female tsetse fly that bites, leaving behind microscopic parasites (tripanasomes) which invade your bloodstream, multiply rapidly and then attack your nervous system and brain. The good news is that it is easily treated and has been eliminated from, or is controlled within most, although not all, safari areas. With assistance from the World Health Organisation (WHO) many African countries are eradicating the tsetse fly from many areas. The bad news is that they seem able to land on your skin so softly that you do not realise they are there until you feel their stinging bite!